


The Invitation

by Deannie



Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-01-18
Updated: 2006-01-18
Packaged: 2017-12-21 08:32:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/898167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deannie/pseuds/Deannie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate gets a look at Tony's family. And it's not what she expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> This was written well before we were introduced to Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. Speculative fiction at its finest.

The invitations were a surprise to everyone. Even Tony himself. 

Kate sensed rather than saw Tony's face tighten as she read the words on the fine parchment. "'You are cordially invited to a Holiday Celebration at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard DiNozzo.'" She looked at her coworker more closely now. "A family Christmas party, Tony?" Something was up. She glanced over at Gibbs's desk and saw a twin to the envelope that had been delivered to her inbox. Gibbs had obviously been in sometime before Kate got to work this morning, as the invitation was lying open and discarded off to the side. "How... uncharacteristically generous of you." 

Tony's voice was as sour as his face. "You can thank my mother," he growled. 

Well, that explained it. His mother had taken it upon herself to invite his coworkers, and Tony obviously didn't approve. Still... Kate had always wanted to see what kind of family Tony came from. 

"So what should I wear to the DiNozzo family gathering?" 

A horrified look swept over his face for a moment before the whole visage hardened. "Got any formals hanging around from when you used to guard the president?" 

She snorted. "The Secret Service doesn't wear formals, Tony." 

Gibbs's voice floated into the conversation as the man himself stalked through the office toward his desk. "Then you'd better go shopping, Kate," he counseled sternly. "Only the finest for the DiNozzo family." 

If anything, Tony grew more tense. "You really don't have to go this year, Boss." He mastered his horror. "I mean, I'm sure you've got better things to do..." 

The look Gibbs gave Tony was almost pitying, and Kate began to rethink her estimation of the situation. What was it about Tony's family that he didn't want the rest of them to know? Gibbs had obviously been to one of these family functions before (which wouldn't surprise Kate at all, if her suspicions about Gibbs and Tony were right), and just as obviously, it hadn't gone well. 

"I have enough time to drop in, DiNozzo. Say Merry Christmas to your mom." 

He stressed the word "mom," and Kate filed that away for future reference. The invitation mentioned a father, but Gibbs and Tony hadn't bothered to yet. 

"Abby sends her regrets, by the way," Gibbs said, in that mock-breezy way he had, though his eyes remained firmly on Tony's face. "She's got a thing." 

That "thing" was enough to make Tony sag in relief. For a second. He turned pleading eyes on Kate, and she had a moment's pause. But only a moment's. She didn't get to be a good profiler by not being able to read between the lines. Tony didn't want her there--he didn't want any of them there. But it seemed like Gibbs thought he needed them there. 

True to her predictions, Gibbs grabbed his coffee and headed back to the elevators. "Kate and I will be on our best behavior, won't we, Kate?" 

"Um... sure." She tried to make it sound as sincere as she could, but she could see Tony fighting not to scream. 

"Come on," Gibbs called from the hall. "Abby's waiting downstairs. She's got a lead on Sergeant Filmore." 

* * * * * 

Nothing more was said about the matter, barring announcements by Ducky and McGee that they'd be unable to attend, announcements that were greeted with naked relief by Tony. The party was one of those elephants in the room that Tony absolutely would not acknowledge. And Gibbs wasn't giving Kate anything to go on--the only time he said anything about it was at the end of the workday the night of the party, after Tony had left. Gibbs walked up to her desk and stood there, waiting for her to give him her full attention. 

"Eight o'clock, tonight," he commanded brusquely. "Don't be late." 

She snorted in surprise. The invitation said seven--she'd be an hour late if she showed up when ordered. But there was some reason Gibbs wanted her there at that time, and she was willing to trust that he knew what he was talking about. When it came to Tony, he usually did. 

More intrigued than she was willing to admit, she headed home to put on her finest and prepare to explore the mystery that was the Clan DiNozzo. 

* * * * * 

The Clan DiNozzo had a huge house. Huge, richly-appointed, and filled with more big names than Kate had ever seen, short of a full State Ball. 

Guarding the president had given her a certain amount of aplomb when dealing with the rich and famous, but she still found herself a little tongue-tied at the wealth that Tony's family obviously had. 

She walked through the vast entryway, dotted with fine statues and expensive Christmas decorations, and at the door to the great hall she came face to face with a tall woman with Tony's eyes and perfect, fine white hair. 

"Are you Kate?" she asked. At Kate's polite nod, the woman held out a hand and grasped Kate's answering one warmly. "It's wonderful to meet you. I'm Katharine DiNozzo, Tony's mother. Tony's told me so much about you!" Now why did that sound unlikely? "I'm so glad you could make it. I believe Tony and Jethro are out on the veranda." She was called aside by a decorous steward who whispered in her ear. "Oh dear! So many things to attend to at a party like this one. Please, mingle. Have some wine." She grasped Kate's forearm this time and squeezed. "I hope we'll have some time to speak a little later." 

And then she was gone. Kate shook her head in bemusement. Okay. So Mom seemed to be a nice person, if a bit... well, rich. Kate scanned the crowd, looking for a man to go with the woman. Someone tall, surely. Handsome. That covered half the men there, but none of them seemed to be enough like Tony to make a guess. 

With a shrug, she headed toward the veranda at the back of the great hall, snagging a glass of champagne as she went but declining the numerous hors d'oeuvres being taken around the assembly by smartly-dressed caterers. She shivered in the winter air as she neared the door that stood open onto the large tiled patio. 

Stunningly, Tony and Gibbs were surrounded by children. Tony was wearing a black silk tuxedo that probably cost nearly a month's pay, and Gibbs stood close, managing not to look shoddy in comparison, wearing what was obviously a well-used, much less expensive model. Kate stood at the door and watched for a few minutes as the pair of them had a perfectly relaxed conversation with a half-dozen kids ranging in age from six to twelve. 

"So what did you ask Santa for, Michael?" Tony asked, oblivious to Kate looking on from afar. Michael was a blond, stocky boy of perhaps ten. He had the DiNozzo look about him. Did Tony actually have siblings, or was this a cousin's child? 

"I wanted a Lego R2D2--the ones you can program with your computer and get them to get you sodas and stuff?" Michael looked suddenly crest-fallen. "But Mom said Santa wasn't made of money." 

Kate smiled as she watched Tony crouch down to be at eye level with the boy. He put a consoling hand on Michael's shoulder. "Sorry, pal, but I think your mom's right. Santa's got a lot of kids to buy for, you know?" 

Interesting. Kate's profiler mind filed away the fact that, in this high-rent culture she'd stumbled into, Santa bought presents. 

"Yeah, I know," Michael acknowledged. "But last year I only asked for a pirate ship and they're way cheaper!" 

"I'm sure whatever Santa gets you will be just what you need," Gibbs offered, in that soft, affable voice he always used with kids. "He's good at figuring out what you really want--even when you don't know what that is." 

Michael seemed to consider that for a long minute, while a beautiful young girl, a bit older than him, tugged at the fine silk of Tony's suit leg. "Uncle Tony, can you fly me?" 

Tony looked down at her ruefully, and Kate would have laughed if it wouldn't have given away her position. The girl was easily ninety pounds. "I don’t' know, Cassie. You're getting a little big for that, aren't you?" 

"No," she stated imperiously. Where Michael had been open to the possibility that he couldn't always get what he wanted, Cassie had obviously been taught just the opposite. "Fly me." 

For the first time, the gentle look on Tony's face faded just a bit, and Gibbs seemed to sense the change of mood. He looked around, catching sight of Kate for the first time and pinning her with his gaze. 

Taking the hint, she entered into the fray. 

"Tony, Gibbs!" She said it brightly enough to make even young Cassie look up in interest. "Sorry I'm late." 

Tony's smile was full and genuine now. And very thankful. He looked at the kids before them and pulled a disappointed face. "Guys, this beautiful lady is Kate. I've got to go show her around the grounds." 

Cassie looked incredibly put out, but the other kids just sighed and whined. Gibbs pointed far down the veranda toward a door that lead back inside. "Cassie's grandma said there's cake in there, you know?" A couple of the kids' faces lit up and Gibbs winked at Michael. "I'm pretty sure she said it was chocolate." 

That did it. Kate watched Tony breathe a sigh of relief as Cassie glared at him once and then headed off with the others. 

"Rule number 6," Tony muttered. "Always have a diversion." 

Kate chuckled at that, which drew Tony's attention to the fact that she was wearing a truly stunning dress. At least she thought so. It was tea length, a rich, dark green silk creation that hugged her in all the right places. She saw him open his mouth to make a smart remark, and nipped it in the bud. 

"Don't you dare, DiNozzo. Say one word, and I go get Cassie." 

It was meant as a joke, but she saw something in Tony's eyes that made it all very not funny. 

"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to..." 

He sighed. "No, it's fine. Cassie's... difficult." He gazed darkly through the window into the great hall. "She has her mom to thank for that." 

Kate nodded, and then pressed on, her curiosity leading the way. "I didn't know you had a sister." 

Tony shrugged it off. "She's more... my parents' other child, actually." He gestured toward the grounds behind them, which were lit by hundreds of little lanterns hanging strung between tall poles, and the three of them walked out past perfectly manicured hedges. "Mom wasn't really expecting to have another kid. Especially not twelve years later." 

Oh. That explained it. Tony probably thought of himself as an only child, then. 

"Rick and I were way too busy being teenagers to spend much time with her." 

"Wait. You have a brother, too?" That was.... Well, given the way he treated McGee, she guessed it wasn't that much of a surprise to her after all. 

"Yep. Michael's his middle kid. His daughter Sophie is fifteen now, and Dickie's here--the little one with the curly hair. I can't believe he's only six." He got a faraway look in his eyes, and his voice was tinged with bitterness. "He acts a lot older than Cassie most of the time." 

"I met your mom when I came in," Kate offered, sensing the need to change the subject. "She seems nice." 

Tony's grin was plastic, and his tone of voice was far too bright. "Seems it, doesn't she?" 

Kate filed away the cold remark and ran through everything that had been said. She turned to Gibbs to explain a discrepancy. "You said 'Cassie's grandma'. Isn't she Michael's, too?" 

Tony chuckled ruefully, and Kate watched Gibbs silently ask permission to answer her. "Rick is his dad's kid from a previous marriage." 

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "Dear old Mom is Mrs. DiNozzo to Rick's kids." 

Ah. So the merging of families hadn't gone smoothly then. Tony was his mother's first child, then--not that that seemed to have worked out so well for him. Still, he obviously talked to her fairly frequently--enough that she knew his coworkers to invite them. 

"That seems a little... cold." She threw out the comment in the hopes of getting more information, and cringed at the angry glare Gibbs sent her way. 

Tony deflated slightly, leading them silently down the path for a while before he spoke again. "My mom can be great, Kate, honestly. She just... has some very definite ideas about how the family should be run." 

Ouch. Corporate-speak in a family dynamic. That didn't bode well. But then, Dad must be someone important, to have this kind of wealth... A financeer or something? She wanted to ask about Mr. DiNozzo, but Gibbs was sending her obvious signals to drop her current line of questioning. 

She had to wonder why. 

"Your parents' house is beautiful," she tried instead, going for a semblance of their normal sibling rivalry. "I'd never have pegged you for a rich kid." 

Tony's smile was easy, and Kate watched Gibbs breathe a sigh of relief. "Then I've done my job, haven't I?" Tony replied cryptically. During their discussion, he'd led them around the gardens to the other side of the house, and he opened a door to a large library and ushered them inside. 

This room wasn't quite as full of people as the great hall had been, but there were a number of small groups, talking quietly. Kate recognized a couple of key senators and her curiosity grew. But Gibbs's protective stance beside Tony kept her silent. 

"Special Agent Gibbs." 

The tone was derisive, and Kate turned to see a tall, very handsome man in his late sixties approaching them, a glass of alcohol in his hand and a slight precision to his movements that said it wasn't his first of the night. She saw Tony's features in the face, but the man's eyes were too hard. 

"Mr. DiNozzo." Gibbs's reply was painfully neutral. He hated Tony's dad--that much was obvious. And on first sight, Kate couldn't say she thought much of the man, either. 

"So, who is this?" He gave Kate a scathing once over. The kind that made her want to take a shower. Or hit him. "Another of your... people?" 

Gibbs had the self control not to rise to the bait, which was more than she was expecting of Tony. But surprisingly, the rude old man's son pasted on a smile that might almost have seemed real to anyone outside of NCIS headquarters and moved to stand beside her. 

"This is Kate Todd, Dad," he offered graciously. "She transferred over from the Secret Service early last year." 

He didn't have to emphasize the fact that she'd obviously been around for a while. But he did. 

"Protecting the leader of the free world, were you?" Mr. DiNozzo asked, not bothering to shake her hand--but then he hadn't bothered to say hello to his own son yet, either, so she supposed she shouldn't exepect much. "I wonder that you'd take a step down from such an important post." 

Kate gritted her teeth while giving her own plastic smile. God knew she'd had enough practice dealing with self-important idiots. "I was lucky to get the assignment, Mr. DiNozzo," she replied. He wasn't getting a "sir" out of her. Not a chance. "NCIS has some very talented agents." 

She sensed Tony's smile tightening and waited for what she knew was coming. Sure enough, Mr. DiNozzo raked his son with a supremely disapproving gaze. "Well, I'm certain that they must." 

Kate was suddenly very glad Abby couldn't make it. She'd have laid the man out for a crack like that. Which really wasn't a bad idea, actually. 

"Audie's waiting for us in the dining room, Tony," Gibbs put in helpfully. Kate could almost see him itching to put a hand to Tony's back and lead him the hell away from this asshole. Come to think of it, he seemed a little more protective than he probably should for just "one of his people." 

She filed that away for future reference, too, and watched Gibbs give Mr. DiNozzo his most withering gaze. "You'll excuse us." It wasn't a request. 

And as such, he didn't wait for an answer. He just led the way into the great hall and started cutting a path through to the dining room which, if she wasn't mistaken, was the room where he'd sent the kids to get their cake. 

Tony shook his head after a moment away from his father's poisonous presence and gave a rather sick grin. "And that, my friends, is why Rick doesn't come to these things anymore." He sighed. "I don't know why Audie bothers to bring the boys. Sophie's already sworn never to set foot in here again." 

Audie must be Rick's wife, Kate surmised. Which meant she was probably the stunning woman standing guard over the chocolate cake in the dining room as they entered. God, was everyone in his family good-looking!? Audie was the kind of lady that Tony should have tried to work his magic on, but he walked up to her and laid a chaste kiss on her cheek instead. 

"Hey, Aud." 

"Hey yourself," she replied, looking at him critically for a moment before grinning sympathetically. "I see you ran into your dad." 

Tony's answering smile was wry and bitter, but he was already relaxing under his sister-in-law's kind attentions. "And a great time was had by all, as usual." 

"Jethro," she offered next, giving him a friendly nod and a grin, but not a kiss. "Michael says you told him Santa can read his mind." 

"I didn't exactly say that." 

Her grin warmed to a smile. "Thank you. If we can get him to realize he can't have everything money can buy, it'll be a miracle." Her eyes darkened. "Especially with Auntie Chris buying him everything under the sun." 

Tony shrugged. "Buy your kids' love, Aud. Little sis was taught by the master." 

So Chris was Tony's parents' "other child." 

Kate was going to need a scorecard soon. Or maybe a couple of lists: The Good Guys versus The Bad Guys. 

"Well I don't want him thinking I need to buy anything," Audie replied, exasperated. She gave Tony a mock-serious perusal. "How did you and Rick turn out so normal?" 

Tony gave that easy grin... a grin that Kate was beginning to see could hide an awful lot of pain underneath. "It wasn't easy, I promise you." He was so good at hiding things. "Gets easier when they cut you off from the fortune." 

"Hey, Kate!" Michael ran up to them suddenly and broke the mood. With the forward nature of a child he grabbed her hand and started pulling her away from the grown ups. "Come here. I want to show you something!" 

Kate gave the rest of them a bemused look and allowed herself to be led away. The other three adults exchanged smiles and followed. 

Back out on the veranda, a few of the children she'd seen before had gathered. Cassie wasn't there, but the curly-haired boy who looked like Audie--and therefore had to be Dickie--was. 

Michael pointed at him. "Dickie wants to sing a song for you!" 

Dickie looked up at her and smiled, and he did indeed look a good deal more adult than his six years. He had Tony's mischeveous grin, and Kate wondered just exactly what he was going to sing for them... and it couldn't be anything good, because his face fell when he spied his mother coming out of the dining room. 

Still he drew himself up gamely and began to sing:

> "Toe-knee Chest-nut nose eye love him."

With each syllable, he touched the appropriate body part, using his head for the word "nut," crossing his arms over his chest for "love," and pointing to an indulgently smiling Tony on "him." 

It was beyond adorable. 

Unselfconscious, despite the crowd of kids and adults around him, Dickie continued. "Toe-knee nose. Toe-knee nose. Toe-knee Chest-nut nose eye love him. That's what Toe-knee nose." 

The adults clapped appreciatively, but Kate saw the devil in Gibbs's eyes. 

"Didn't your Uncle Tony teach you that song, Dick?" he asked, all innocence. It must have been some kind of in-joke, however, because Audie was grinning madly, and Tony was... blushing!? 

Dickie shook his head. "Nah. We learned it in school last year. But Uncle Tony taught me 'nother way to do it." He looked at his mom and dropped his gaze to the ground. "Mom says I can't sing it the way Uncle Tony taught me." 

Kate looked at her blushing coworker. Oh, she could dine out on this for months. "How did he tell you it went?" 

Dickie looked to his mom, who schooled her visage to a stern scowl. "Now you know you're not supposed to do it that way, right?" The six-year-old bobbed his head, eliciting a grin from his parent. "Just tonight--right now--you can do it, okay? For Kate. But not again, right?" 

Dickie beamed. "Okay!" 

And he began again...

> "Toe-knee Chest-nuts nose eye love him."

Kate tried not to laugh. Honestly. Because it just wasn't funny for a grown man to have taught his young nephew to grab his privates when he said the word "nuts." 

> "Toe-knee nose. Toe-knee nose. Toe-knee Chest-nuts..."

It really wasn't funny! Which was, of course, why she gave Tony a beatific "I'm going to remember this for the rest of your natural life" grin as Dickie finished his song.

> "...that's what Toe-knee nose."

"Corrupting our youth a little early there, aren't you, Tony?" she asked, glad to see him actually enjoying himself again. God, it had to be sad when you could take so little joy in your family. Sure, her brothers were pains in the ass, but they were her pains in the ass, and she'd shoot anyone who tried to take them away from her. She felt the same about Tony. 

Well, that was suddenly a very scary thought, wasn't it? 

Or maybe not so scary. After all, if she could give him the sister he needed instead of the sister he had, who was she to say no? 

Which was, of course, exactly why Gibbs had wanted her to come tonight. It wasn't going to change the way she and Tony fought--it would ruin the whole thing if it did--but now she at least had a little more insight into the makings of her new brother. 

"It's getting late," Audie announced. "I think I'll get the boys home to bed--before Dickie tries singing that song for your mother!" 

Tony's face was overcome by a wistful smile. "We can only dream." 

Audie swatted him soundly on the arm, then hugged him tight. "The boys and I are doing Christmas here before going to my folks'. You know Sophie won't be here, but... Come." When he nodded, she moved on to Gibbs. Again, she didn't touch him, but the warmth in her gaze was unmistakable. "Have fun, Jethro--and don't let him give you any crap, okay?" She gave her brother-in-law a mock glare. "Give him an inch, he'll take a mile." 

Gibbs just smiled in commiseration. 

Which left Audie to Kate. They shared a look that said a lot, from Kate's point of view, 'take care of him' and 'thanks for being there for him' being top of the list. All Audie said aloud was "Keep him in line, will ya?" 

To which Kate responded, "Have you figured out how yet?" 

Which drew exactly the exasperated laugh from Tony that it was meant to. 

Once Audie had corralled her kids and made for the door, Tony grew brooding again. Gibbs seemed to take that as a sign that the all-too-brief (yet not brief enough) evening was drawing to a close. 

"I want to see a report on the Garison case on my desk in the morning, people," he commanded sternly, though the look he gave Tony was predictably soft. 

"Yeah," Tony replied quietly. "Should probably get home and get some sleep then, huh?" 

As a group, they made their way out to the front of the house, Tony pausing to give his mother a hug. Katharine DiNozzo lamented that she hadn't had time to get to know Kate better, again citing all the things that had to be attended to at a party like this. Kate simply shook her hand and wondered how connected the woman really was to her son. And then she wondered exactly how Tony had grown into the kind of man he was, given this sort of upbringing. He might be shallow and obnoxious, but he was never as cold and disconnected as his parents were... 

She took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief at finally leaving such a complex little family drama behind her, and she and the two men waited outside for the valets to bring their cars around. 

Given the further clues to their relationship that she'd amassed tonight, it didn't surprise her that Gibbs and Tony had come in the same car. As Gibbs's sedan was pulled up to the curb of the huge circular drive, Kate turned to see a very diffident look on Tony's face. 

He hadn't wanted her to come, clearly. Mostly because he probably didn't want her to know how truly screwed up his family was. And while Gibbs was certainly going to catch hell tonight for setting this up, Kate was glad he'd done so. She just had to make sure Tony realized that this knowledge didn't change the way she saw him. He was her brother, and she both hated and loved him for that. 

And so, as they were saying their goodbyes, she gave him her best little sister grin. 

"I'll see you tomorrow," she promised, turning to go and letting her parting shot float back to him in the night. "Chest-nuts." 

* * * * *  
The end


End file.
